Storage and reproduction apparatus

ABSTRACT

A portable hand-held apparatus includes a semiconductor memory, a reproduction block, a display, a control block, a housing, and an operation block configured to supply a signal to the control block depending on user manual inputs. The operation block includes a circuit at a surface of the housing configured to detect a first user manual gesture in a first direction approximately parallel to the housing surface, a second user manual gesture in a direction opposite to the first direction and also approximately parallel to the housing surface, and a third user manual gesture in a direction that is perpendicular to the housing surface. The first and second gestures are used to select a particular one of the one or more pieces of sound data, and reproduction of a particular piece of sound data occurs in response to the third gesture.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §120 from U.S. Ser. No. 12/651,028, filed Dec. 31, 2009,which is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 11/742,641, filed on May1, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,725,652, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 10/870,195, filed on Jun. 17, 2004, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,313,647, which is a division of application Ser. No. 10/043,506,filed on Jan. 10, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,753, which is a divisionof application Ser. No. 09/703,885, filed on Nov. 1, 2000, now U.S. Pat.No. 6,339,814, which is a division of application Ser. No. 09/128,744,filed on Aug. 4, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,235, which claims thebenefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from Japanese PatentApplication Nos. 09-215209, filed Aug. 8, 1997 and 09-213656, filed Aug.7, 1997. The entire contents of each of the above applications areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a storage and reproduction apparatus,and in particular to a storage and reproduction apparatus using asemiconductor memory.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Nowadays, there are recording/reproduction apparatus which can easily beused for recording/reproducing a sound just like writing down contentsof a lecture or discussion on a memo paper. Such arecording/reproduction apparatus uses a semiconductor memory as arecording medium for storing a sound signals as a predetermined numberof files and the sound signal is reproduced to output a sound. Morespecifically, the recording/reproduction apparatus stores a sound dataconsisting of a plurality of files in a semiconductor memory and uponreproduction, successively reproduces the sound data, starting with anolder file.

When writing down contents of a discussion on a memo notebook, thelatest content is written on a later page of the memo notebook.Accordingly, when reading the contents afterward, it is necessary toturn pages to read the latest contents.

This inconvenience is also met in a recording/reproduction apparatus ina semiconductor apparatus which stores a latest sound as a last file ina semiconductor memory, which requires search of the file containing thelatest sound prior to reproducing the latest sound.

Those files stored in memory can be erased when they have becomeunnecessary. However, when there is a necessity to reproduce a file orwhen new files are successively stored without any time to erase them,more important files tend to be recorded at the last write-in address orread-out address of memory. Accordingly, as more and more files arerecorded, there will be contained more files which are scarcely to beassessed. Those files which are not so important are first to be readout from memory to be reproduced and the latest file which has been justrecorded tends to be the last to be reproduced.

That is, when a user wants to reproduce a sound data of the latestimportant file, he/she needs to carry out an operation for search thetarget latest file from a plurality of files stored in memory. Thisrequires a complicated operation procedures to read out a necessary filefrom memory and reproduce it.

In order to read out from memory and reproduce a target sound data inthe aforementioned recording/reproduction apparatus using asemiconductor memory, a user needs to operate a plurality of operationbuttons such as a reproduction button, forward direction search button,and reverse direction search button. More specifically, when a pluralityof data pieces are recorded in a semiconductor memory, prior toreproduction, it is necessary to press a forward direction search buttonand a reverse direction search button to select a target data piece tobe reproduced so that an index number of the target data piece isdisplayed in a display block of the apparatus. After this, areproduction button is pressed so as to reproduce the target sound data.Here, if a plenty of index numbers are involved, the user needs tocontinuously press the search button so as to display the target indexnumber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a storageand reproducing apparatus which resolves the above-mentioned problem.

One aspect of the present invention is directed to a portable hand-heldapparatus that includes a semiconductor memory configured to store oneor more pieces of sound data and a reproduction block including aloudspeaker configured to reproduce one or more of the pieces of sounddata as sound signals from the loudspeaker. This apparatus also includesa display panel configured to display selectable informationcorresponding to each of one or more of the pieces of sound data, acontrol block that includes a microcomputer and a program that isexecutable by the microcomputer to control the apparatus, and a housingconfigured for hand-held operation containing the reproduction block,the display panel and the control block. This apparatus also includes anoperation block configured to supply a signal to the control blockdepending on user manual inputs to the operation block. The operationblock includes a circuit at a surface of the housing configured todetect a first user manual gesture in a first direction approximatelyparallel to the housing surface, a second user manual gesture in adirection opposite to the first direction and also approximatelyparallel to the housing surface and a third user manual gesture in adirection that is perpendicular to the housing surface. The circuit ofthe operation block is configured to detect the first user manualgesture and the second user manual gesture in selecting a particular oneof the one or more pieces of sound data when the display panel displaysthe selectable information corresponding to the particular one of theone or more of the pieces of sound data. The reproduction block isconfigured to reproduce the particular one of the one or more pieces ofsound data in response to the circuit of the operation block detectingthe third user manual gesture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of an ICrecorder according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external front view of the IC recorder.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a semiconductor memory of the ICrecorder.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration of an eternal block of the semiconductormemory.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration of an index stage block constituted by afile data of the semiconductor memory.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration of an ADR data block of the index stageblock.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration of an HDR data block of the index stageblock.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration of an index stage block constituted by afile data of the semiconductor memory.

FIG. 9 shows a configuration of a work area block of the semiconductormemory.

FIG. 10 shows a configuration of a PCM data block of the semiconductormemory.

FIG. 11 explains a recording position of a new sound data stored.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart explaining a CPU operation when additionallyrecording a new sound data as of ID number 02.

FIG. 13 shows a configuration of an ADR data of the index stage blockwhen a new sound data is additionally recorded as of ID number 02.

FIG. 14 explains a storage position of a new sound data additionallyrecorded as of ID number 02.

FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B explain a configuration of a jog dial: FIG. 15A isan external front view of the jog dial and

FIG. 15B is an external rear view of the jog dial.

FIG. 16 shows rotation directions of a rotation operation member inconnection with signals outputted as a result of a jog dial rotationoperation together with corresponding output waveforms.

FIG. 17 explains an operation of a rotary operation member associatedwith a cue/review reproduction and a reproduction state transitioncorresponding to the operation of the rotary operation member.

FIG. 18 a processing carried out when the rotary operation member isrotated or pressed in a stop state.

FIG. 19 shows a processing carried out when the rotary operation membersrotated or pressed in a sound data reproduction state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, description will be directed to a storage and reproducingapparatus according to embodiments of the present invention withreference to the attached drawings. In the embodiments described below,explanation will be given on a recording/reproduction apparatus(hereinafter, referred to simply as an IC recorder) using asemiconductor memory for recording or reproducing a sound signal.

Referring to FIG. 1, this IC recorder 1 includes: a recording block 10for converting an analog sound signal from a microphone 11, into adigital sound data and storing the digital sound data in a semiconductormemory 9; a reproduction block 20 for reading out the sound data storedin the semiconductor memory 9 and converting the read out sound datainto an analog sound signal for reproduction output from a speaker 24; acontrol block 30 for controlling apparatus components including therecording block 10; a display block 40 for displaying an operation stateand an operation procedure; and an operation block 50 through which auser enters various operations.

The recording block 10 has: an amplifier 12 for amplifying a an analogsound signal outputted from the microphone 11; an automatic gaincontroller (hereinafter, referred to as AGC) circuit for adjusting alevel of the sound signal amplified by the amplifier 12; an encoder 14for converting the sound signal from the AGC 13, into a sound data; anda buffer memory 15 for temporarily accumulating the sound data from theencoder 14.

In the recording block 10, the microphone 11 converts a speaker's voiceinto an analog signal for supply to the amplifier 12. The amplifier 12amplifies the analog sound signal for supply to the AGC 13. The AGC 13amplifies the signal from the amplifier 12 so that the analog soundsignal is at a proper level for supply to the encoder 14.

Because the analog sound signal supplied via the AGC 13 has a strongtemporal correlation, the encoder 14 employs, for example, the adaptivedifferential pulse code modulation (hereinafter, referred to ADPCM) toencode an analog sound signal with a small data amount, to create adigital sound data and supplies the created sound data to the buffermemory 15. The encoder 14 can adjust a sound data coding amountaccording to two modes. For example, in an SP mode, a sound signal issampled with an 8 kHz sampling frequency if in an SP mode and with a 4kHz sampling frequency if in an LP mode so as to adjust a sound signalcoding amount in the temporal axis direction.

The buffer memory 15 temporarily accumulates a sound data supplied fromthe encoder and supplies the accumulated data to the semiconductormemory 9.

The semiconductor memory 19 is constituted, for example, by anelectrical erasable/programmable read only memory (hereinafter, referredto as an EEPROM), i.e., an non-volatile semiconductor memory whichmaintains a storage content of a storage element even if a memory drivepower is turned off. This semiconductor memory 9 stores a sound datasupplied from the buffer memory 15 and a management information(hereinafter, referred to as a TOC information) for carrying out amanagement, for example, which sound data is stored in which area. Morespecifically, the semiconductor memory 9 is, for example, a NAND typeflash memory having a storage capacity of 4M×8 bits or 8×16 M bits,enabling to store a sound data corresponding to a sound signal of apredetermined frequency band for 30 minutes. For example, when thememory 9 has a storage capacity of 8×16 M bits, it is possible to storea sound data corresponding to a sound signal of 200 to 3400 Hz for 16minutes in the aforementioned SP mode and to store a sound datacorresponding to a sound signal of 200 to 1700 Hz for 24 minutes in theaforementioned LP mode.

On the other hand, the reproduction block 20, as shown in FIG. 1, has adecoder 21 for converting a sound signal read from the semiconductormemory 9, into a sound signal, a filter 22, and an amplifier 23 foramplifying the sound data from the filter 22 for supply to a loudspeaker 24.

The decoder 21 corresponds to the encoder 14 of the recording block 10,and decodes a sound data which has been encoded by the ADPCM method, soas to create a so-called PAM signal. The filter 22 removes a highfrequency component exceeding a voice frequency band from the PAM signaland outputs an analog sound signal. The amplifier 23 amplifies theanalog sound signal supplied from the filter 22. The loud speaker 24 isdriven according to a signal from the amplifier 23. Thus, a soundrecorded in the memory 9 is outputted from the loud speaker 24.

The control block 30 includes: a ROM 31 containing a program forcontrolling the IC recorder; a microcomputer (hereinafter, referred toas a CPU) 32 for executing the program stored in the ROM 31 to controlrespective blocks; a random access memory (hereinafter, referred to as aRAM) 34 for temporarily storing the time of a timer 33 for creating aclock information, a program execution result, and the like; and acounter 35 for counting pulses supplied from a jog dial which will bedetailed later. The control block 30, according to an operation settingof the operation block 50, carries out operation control of respectivecomponents of the apparatus 1.

The display block 40 displays an operation state of the IC recorder 1and a sound data storage state according to a control signal from thecontrol block 30 and includes a liquid crystal display panel 41 and aback light 42 for illuminating this liquid crystal display panel 41.

The operation block 50 supplies various input signals to the controlblock 30 when carrying out a sound recording/reproduction. The operationblock 50 has various operation buttons, operation switches, and a jogdial to be operated by a user as will be detailed later. In the ICrecorder 1, various output signals from these operation buttons/switchesad the jog dial are supplied to the control block 30.

The CPU 32 of the control block 30, according to a signal supplied fromthe operation block 50, reads out from the ROM and executes acorresponding program and controls the respective blocks according tothe program which has been read out. For example, if a recording startbutton which will be detailed later is pressed, the CPU 32 reads outfrom the ROM and executes a program corresponding to a recordingoperation and controls to operate the amplifier 12, the AGC 13, theencoder 14, the display block 40, and the like according to the programwhich has been read out, so that a sound data temporarily accumulated inthe buffer memory 15 is written in an empty area of the semiconductormemory, for example. For reproduction of a sound data, the CPU 32 readsout from the ROM and executes a program corresponding to a reproductionoperation and according to the program which has been read out, controlto operate the decoder 21, the filter 22, the amplifier 23, the displayblock 40, and the like, so that a sound data stored in a predeterminedarea of the semiconductor memory 9 is read out and converted into ananalog sound signal so as to be outputted from the loud speaker 24.

Thus, the control block 30 controls a sound data writing and reading outinto/from the semiconductor memory 9 and write up to 99 sound datapieces, for example, into the semiconductor memory 9 by adding an indexnumber to identify each of the sound data pieces. According to the indexnumber added to each of the sound data pieces, the control block 30controls to read out a target sound data piece from the semiconductormemory 9.

Next, explanation will be given on the operation block 50 of the ICrecorder 1 with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 2 is an external viewbriefly showing an external configuration of the IC recorder 1. The ICrecorder shown in FIG. 2 is a portable type has an external casing 2 ofa size to be grasped by one hand. In this external casing 2 is arrangeda printed circuit board (not depicted) where the aforementioned electriccircuits such as recording block 10 and the reproduction block 20 aremounted. On a main surface 2 a of this external casing 2 are arrangedthe aforementioned liquid crystal display panel 41 an the loud speaker24.

This IC recorder 1 has on the main surface 2 a and side surfaces of theexternal casing 2, various operation buttons/switches 51 to 57constituting the operation block 50 and the jog dial 60. The buttons andswitches of the operation block 50 are arranged on the main surface 2 aand the side surfaces of the casing 2 and can be operated with left handfingers while the entire IC recorder 1 is held on the left hand palm sothat a the user can continue a work such as writing with his/her righthand.

The operation buttons involved here are, as shown in FIG. 2, FILE button51, MENU button 52, PRIORITY button 53, STOP button 54 for stopping arecording or the like, REC button 55 for starting a recording, and ERASEbutton for erasing a sound data stored in the semiconductor memory 9.These operation buttons are arranged on the main surface 2 a for theexternal casing 2. A HOLD switch 57 of slide type is provided at a lowerhalf of a left side surface 2 b of the external casing 2. The operationbloc 50 also includes, although not depicted, a button for turning onthe back light 42 of the liquid crystal display panel 41, a volumeswitch for adjusting loudness of a reproduced sound, an earphone jack,and the like which are arranged on a side surface of the external casing2.

Here, the FILE button 51 is used to switch between a plurality of filesset in the IC recorder 1. The term file corresponds to a directory orfolder used in a personal computer. In this embodiment, five types offiles are set beforehand. That is, in this IC recorder 1, each of thefiles can store up to 99 sound data pieces. The file types can beidentified by displaying different icons on the liquid crystal displaypanel 41.

The MENU button 52 is used to operate during a stop state ofrecording/reproduction so as to modify the initial setting of the ICrecorder 1 such as modification of a data and time, modification of afrequency band of a sound data to be recorded, modification of output ofa beep sound and alarm sound given upon pressing of the operationbuttons, modification of sensitivity of the microphone, and the like.

The PRIORITY button 53 is pressed during a reproduction operation or astop state of the apparatus 1 so as to determine the reproductionpriority for a sound stored in the memory 9. When this PRIORITY button53 is pressed, an index number of a target sound data such as a datawhich is being reproduced is modified to a smaller number. In that file,a sound data having an index number modified by the PRIORITY button 53is reproduced with a higher priority.

The HOLD switch 57 is used to maintain an operation state or a stopstate of the IC recorder 1. When this HOLD switch is in ON state, the ICrecorder 1 is in a state not to accept operation of the operationbuttons 51 to 56 and the jog dial 60. The configuration of the jog dial60 and a reproduction operation using the jog dial 60 will be detailedlater.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, when a sound data and other data are stored inthe semiconductor memory 9, the data is divided into 512 blocks whichare erase units. These blocks are grouped into six types as follows: aneternal block (1 block), index stage 0 blocks (6 blocks), index stage 1blocks (6 blocks), a back-up block (1 block), work area blocks (15blocks), and PCM data blocks (469 blocks).

The aforementioned TOC information consists of the eternal block, indexstage 0 block, index stage 1 block back-up block, and work area block. Asound data is written into PCM data blocks.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the blocks consists of 16 pages (each pageconsisting of 528 bytes): page 0, page 1, . . . , page 14, page 15. Eachone page consists of a 512-byte data area and a 16-byte redundant area.Ten blocks at maximum exist as blocks disabled for data recording and/orreproduction (hereinafter, referred to as invalid blocks).

The eternal block is provided other than at the first and the lastblocks of the memory 9, i.e., other than at the memory write-in orread-out start and end addresses. The eternal block contains amanagement information which is first to be read out from the memory 9.According to the data of the eternal block, the index stage 0 blocks andthe index stage 1 blocks are read out. Thus, the eternal block isindispensable for reading out a data stored in the other blocks andaccordingly located at a position other than the head and end addressesof the memory 9 which have the highest possibility of destruction uponan abnormal operation such as static electricity and an abnormalvoltage. For example, if a block containing a sound data is destroyed,the data in the broken block can be erased so that a new sound data canbe recorded without any problem. However, if the eternal block isdestroyed, no data can be read out from the other blocks. To avoid sucha situation, the eternal block is located, as has been described above,at other than the blocks of the memory 9 start and end addresses.

In the eternal block, only page 0 contains a data, and pages 1 to 15contain no data. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, page 0 of theeternal block includes a 4-byte eternal block recognition data, 2-byteeternal block address, 3-byte index stage 0 address, 2-byte index stage1 address, 2-byte work area block start address, 4-byte dummy data, and128-byte blank map. The blank map indicates locations of theaforementioned invalid blocks.

The index stage 0 blocks and the index stage 1 blocks have an identicaldata configuration and these blocks are alternately rewritten for eachsound data rewriting. That is, when a sound data is written in thememory 9, for example, a data in an index stage 0 block is rewritten,and when another sound data is written in the memory 9, a data in anindex stage block is rewritten. Hereinafter, these blocks will bereferred to as index stage blocks in general.

As has been described, there are 6 index stage blocks for stage 0 andstage 1, respectively: five blocs containing a file data and one blockcontaining a stage data.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration of an index stage block having a file datawhich consists of an ADR data block of page 0 to page 11 and an HDRblock of page 12 to page 15.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration of the ADR data block, which has, forexample, ID numbers 01 to 06; SP which indicates the recording mode SPor LP corresponding to a coding amount by the aforementioned encoder 14for each of the files containing a sound data; STH indicating an upperstart address and STM indicating a lower start address of the file; ENHindicating an upper end address and ENM indicating a lower end addressof the file.

For example, when 6 sound data pieces are recorded, as shown in FIG. 7,in the ADR data block, index numbers 01 to 06 are recorded correspondingto the six sound data pieces. This index number is a data indicating areproduction sequence of the six sound data pieces recorded. For each ofthe index numbers, recording mode (SP) together with a start address(STH, STM) and an end address (ENH, ENM) of the area containing thesound data are recorded. Because the sound of the index number 01 andthe sound data of the index number 03 have a large capacity, as shown inFIG. 6, the index number 01 consists of two files and the index number03 consists of four files, for example. In this case, for each of thefiles, a recording mode and a start address and an end address arerecorded.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration of the HDR block. The following arerecorded for each file; PRI indicating a file priority set by operationof the PRIORITY button 53 of the operation block 50; ALM indicatingON/OFF of the alarm setting by the operation of the MENU button 52; AMO,ADA, AHO, AMI, and AOW indicating the month, day, hour, minute, day ofthe week when the alarm is to be actuated. Here, as has been describedabove, the priority indicates a reproduction priority of a sound datawhen the sound data is reproduced. The HDR data block is updated whenthe priority or alarm setting is modified by operation of the PRIORITYbutton 53 and the MENU button 52 even if no sound data is updated.

On the other hand, the index stage block containing a stage data, asshown in FIG. 8, has a valid mark on page 0, a mode interruption mode onpage 1, a blank map on page an eternal block blank map on page 3.

The back-up block is a back-up for the aforementioned eternal block andis a copy of the eternal block. Consequently, when the eternal block isrewritten, the back-up block is also rewritten. There may be more thanone back-up blocks.

The work area block is an area for temporarily recording an index dataduring a sound data recording. As shown in FIG. 9, the work area blockhas an almost identical data configuration as the index stage block. Thework area block contains an index number, SP/LP information indicatingthe recording mode, a sound data upper start address, a sound data lowerstart address, a sound data upper end address, a sound data lower endaddress, each of which consists of 1 byte. In this work area block,while reading data from the work area block, the index stage block isrewritten and the data such as the start address is directly written asit is.

The PCM data block is an area where a sound data is mainly recorded. ASshown in FIG. 10, in the PCM data block, each one page contains besidesa sound data, the year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and day of theweek created by the timer 33 are also recorded. More specifically, a512-byte sound data, 1-byte data of year, 1-byte data of month, 1-bytedata of day, 1-byte data of hour, 1-byte data of minute, 1-byte data ofsecond, and 1-byte clock set flag are recorded on one page.

In the IC recorder 1 having the aforementioned configuration, if the RECbutton 56 is pressed when no recording or reproduction is carried out,the CPU 32 controls to write a sound data in the semiconductor memory 9.It is assumed that in the semiconductor memory 9, already six sound datapieces have been recorded as shown in FIG. 6.

More specifically, when the REC button 56 is pressed, the CPU 32 readsout from the ROM 31 and executes a program corresponding to therecording operation so that the amplifier 12, the AGC 13, and theencoder 14 are actuated and a sound data delayed with a predeterminedtime via the buffer memory 15 is stored in the PCM data block of thesemiconductor memory 9.

For each of the data blocks, the CPU 32 stores a 512-byte sound data adcreates a data of the recording year, month, day, hour, and minute to berecorded together with the sound data in the PCM data block. The CPU 32controls to write a sound data as one sound data piece in the PCM datablocks of the semiconductor memory 9 until the STOP button is pressed.

When the STOP button is pressed, the CPU 32 terminates to control torecord the sound data in the PCM data blocks and rewrites the TOCinformation of the memory 9. More specifically, the index stage block isrewritten.

In the ADR data block of the index stage block containing a file data,the CPU 32 assigns an index number 01 to the 7-th sound data piece andwrites in a data of mode setting, start address, and end address. TheCPU 32 changes the previous index numbers 01 to 06 respectively to theindex numbers 02 to 07 and writes in a data of the mode setting, startaddress, and end address of the respective index numbers.

This processing is illustrated in FIG. 11. The CPU 32 assigns the indexnumber 01 to the latest 7-th sound data piece recorded and shift by 1the previous index numbers 01 to 06 respectively to index numbers 02 to07 and rewrites the TOC information. That is, the latest sound datapiece is recorded in the memory 9 with the index number 1.

Next, explanation will be given on reproduction of a sound data.

If a user presses the jog dial shown in FIG. 2 in the direction of thearrow X when the apparatus 1 is in the stop state, the CPU 32 resumes areproduction. That is, according to an eternal block recognition data ofthe eternal block from the memory 9, the CPU 32 recognizes the eternalblock and reads out a data from this eternal block. It should be notedthat if the CPU 32 fails to recognize the eternal block shown in FIG. 3,the CPU 32 recognizes the back-up block and reads out a data from thisback-up block.

According to an index stage 0 address or index stage 1 address in theeternal block or in the back-up block, the CPU 32 reads out a data ofthe index stage block.

The CPU 32 uses the ADR data block of the index stage block containing afile data to control read-out of a sound data from PCM data blocks.Here, the CPU 32 reads out a sound data in the order of index number 01,index number 02, index number 03, . . . . More specifically, firstly,according to the start address (STH, STM) and end address (ENH, ENM) ofthe index number 01 in the ADR data block, the CPU 32 reads out a sounddata of index number 01. The sound data which has been read out isconverted into a sound signal via the decoder 21 and the filter 22 forsupply to the loud speaker 24. Thus, the sound of index number 01 isoutputted from the loud speaker 24.

The CPU 32 continues read-out of the sound data from the memory 9 untilthe STOP button 55 shown in FIG. 2 is pressed. That is, after the soundof index number 01 is outputted from the loud speaker 24, the CPU 32reads out a sound data of index number 02, a sound data of index number03, . . . in this order.

As has been described above, in the IC recorder 1, as shown in FIG. 11,when a new sound data is recorded, it is stored in the semiconductormemory 9 as the latest sound data of index number 01 so thatreproduction is carried out in the order of index number 01, indexnumber 02, index number 03, . . . . This is because a sound data of asmaller index number tends to be more important than a sound data of agreater index number. The aforementioned control enables to set animportant sound data piece with an earlier index number. Thus, there isno need of searching an important latest sound piece, which enhancesoperationability.

In the IC recorder 1, it is also possible to add another sound data to asound data which has been recorded as an additional recording. Here, theCPU 32 executes a processing of step 1 and after shown in FIG. 12.

For example, if a user presses the REC button 56 while the IC recorderis reproducing a sound data of index number 02 (step S1), the CPU 32actuates the timer 3 and determines whether the REC button 56 is pressedfor 1 second or more (step S2). If it is determined that the REC button56 has been pressed for 1 second or more, the CPU 32 interrupts thereproduction of the sound data of index number 02 (step S3), and if itis determined that the REC button 56 has not been pressed for 1 secondor more, the CPU 32 continues the reproduction.

After the reproduction is interrupted, the CPU 32 controls to startrecording of a sound inputted from the microphone 11 (step 4) and writethe sound data in a PCM data block of the memory 9. The CPU 32 continuesthe recording until the STOP button 55 is pressed or the storagecapacity of the semiconductor memory 9 becomes full (step S5). When theSTOP button 55 is pressed or the storage capacity of the semiconductormemory 9 has become full, i.e., there is no more area for writing asound data, the CPU terminates the recording (step S6).

After the reproduction is terminated, the CPU 32 executes rewriting ofthe TOC information of the sound data (step S7). More specifically, asshown in FIG. 13, in the ADR data block of the index stage blockcontaining a file data, the CPU 32 firstly writes a start address (STH,STM) and end address (ENH, ENM) of the index number 01 and index number02 which were present prior to the recording. Next, the CPU 32 controlsto write a start address and end address indicating the recordingposition of a new sound data which has been recorded additionally asindex number 02 and to write again the start address and the like of thesound data of index number 03 and after which were present prior to therecording. Thus, the CPU assigns an index number 02 for a new sound datato be additionally recorded and writes its start address (STH, STM) andend address (ENH, ENM).

Consequently, in the C recorder 1, when the jog dial 60 is operated andreproduction is started, sound data reproduction is carried out in theorder of index number 01, index number 02, . . . . Here, as shown inFIG. 14, the sound data piece additionally recorded is outputted asindex number 02 immediately after the sound data portion of index number02 which has been recorded in advance.

That is, in the IC recorder 1, it is possible to select one piece from aplurality of pieces already recorded and additionally record a new pieceto be added to the selected piece. Thus, the user can record a new datapiece with a desired index number to be added to the selected one of thepieces already recorded. This enables to significantly enhance theoperationability, eliminating time required for searching a desiredpiece. This additional recording can be carried out without changing theoperation block 50 and accordingly without increasing production costs.

In the aforementioned embodiment, explanation has been given on a casean additional recording mode is set in when the REC button 56 is pressedfor 1 second or more while a predetermined file is read out from thememory 9 and reproduced, but the additional recording mode is not to belimited to this case.

For example, the additional recording mode can be set by the CPU 32 ifthe REC button 56 is pressed for predetermined period of time (forexample, 2 seconds) after the reproduction f file of index number 02 isinterrupted by a user. When the additional recording mode is set in, theCPU 32 executes the processing of step S4 and after so as to record anew sound data as of index number 02 in the semiconductor memory 9.

Next, explanation will be given on the reproduction operation using thejog dial 60 and the configuration of the jog dial 60. In the IC recorder1, a portion of the jog dial 60, i.e., a portion of the rotationaloperation member which will be detailed later, is exposed from a cut-offportion 2 c formed on the upper half of the left side surface 2 b of theexternal casing 2. This jog dial 60 includes a disc-shaped rotationoperation member 61 having a rotation center shaft 62 and other memberswhich will be detailed later and most of the members of the jog dial arecontained in the external casing and only a portion of the rotaryoperation member 61 is exposed outside from the cut-off portion 2 c. Therotation operation member 61 of the jog dial 60 can be rotated aroundthe rotation center shaft 62 in the directions of A and B indicated inFIG. 2.

Furthermore, the rotary operation member 61 of the jog dial 60 isprovided in such a manner that the rotary center shaft 62 can be movedin side the external casing 2 in the directions of X and Y indicated inFIG. 2. In a normal state, i.e., when the jog dial 60 is in anon-operation state, the member 61 is urged by a spring (not depicted)in the direction of arrow Y so that a portion of the member 61 protrudesfrom the cut-off portion 2 c. Accordingly, the rotary operation member61 of the jog dial 60 can be operated by a user so as to rotate in thedirections of arrow A and arrow B indicated in FIG. 2 as well as to moveby pressing along plane when almost, orthogonally intersects therotation center shaft 62, i.e., in the direction indicated by arrow X inFIG. 2, which brings the rotary operation member 61 inside the externalcasing 2.

When this rotary operation member 61 is rotated in the direction ofarrow A or B indicated in FIG. 2, the jog dial 60 supplies an outputsignal according to the rotation angle and rotation speed to the controlblock 30. When this rotary operation member 61 is pressed in thedirection of arrow X indicated in FIG. 2, an output signal correspondingto the pressing time of the member 61 is supplied to the control block30. More specifically, in the IC recorder 1, the control block 30detects the rotation direction, rotation angle, and rotation speed ofthe rotary operation member 61, or detects whether the rotary operationmember 61 is pressed and whether the pressing of the rotary operationmember 61 exceeds a predetermined period of time. The control block 30reads out a program from the ROM 31 corresponding to a detection resultand executes the program so as to control the operation of therespective components of the apparatus 1. It should be noted that thecontrol operation by this control block 30 will be detailed later.

This jog dial 60 is operated by a user in various cases including a caseto carry out various operations in reproduction or a case to modify theinitial setting of the aforementioned date and time. That is, this jogdial 60 is used with a high frequency. For this, the jog dial 60 isprovided at the side surface of the external casing 2 as shown in FIG. 2so that the user can hold the external casing 2 with his/her left handand rotate and press the rotary operation member 61 which partiallyprotrudes from the cut-off portion 2 c with his/her left hand thumbalone.

Referring to FIG. 15A, FIG. 15B, and FIG. 16, configuration of this jogdial 60 will be detailed below. FIG. 15A is a front view of the jog dial60, i.e., an external view from the main surface 2 a of the externalcasing 2. FIG. 15B is an external view from the rear face. As shown inFIG. 15A and FIG. 15B, the jog dial 60 includes the aforementionedrotary operation member 61, a base member on which this rotary operationmember 61 is attached, a leaf-spring-shaped electrode 64, and fourterminals a, b, c, and d which are mounted on the base member 63.

The base member 63 is made from an insulating material and has a mainsurface portion 63 a attached inside the external casing 2 so that theentire jog dial 60 is fixed to the external casing 2. As shown in FIG.15B, the base member 63 has a cut-off portion 65 of an elliptic shapehaving a longer axis in the direction of arrows X and Y. In the cut-offportion 65 is fitted the rotation center shaft 62 of a circular shapeprovided at the center of one main surface 61 a of the rotary operationmember 61 in such a manner that the shaft 62 can be rotated and shiftedin the directions indicated by the arrows X and Y in FIG. 15B along aplane which almost orthogonally intersects the rotation center shaft 62.

The electrode 64, as shown in FIG. 15A, is made from a leaf spring whichhas been bent. The electrode 64 has a base end fixed to the base member63. The plurality of terminals a, b, c, and d attached to the basemember 63 are respectively connected to the control block 30 shown inFIG. 1. Here, the terminals a and b function to output an output signalbased on the rotation of the rotary operation member 61. The terminal dfunctions to supply an input signal based on the pressing of the rotaryoperation member 61 in the direction of arrow X. The terminal c servesas a common grounding for the terminals a, b, and d.

When the rotary operation member 61 is pressed in the direction of arrowX, a tip end 64 a of the electrode 64 is moved in the directionindicated by arrow X and brought into contact with the other electrode(not depicted). When the electrode 64 is brought into contact with thisother electrode (not depicted), the jog dial 60 supplies an outputsignal from terminal d to the control block 30 which signal indicatingthat the rotary operation member 61 is pressed by the user. When thepressing of the rotary operation member 61 is stopped, the contactbetween the electrode 64 and the other electrode (not depicted) isreleased and supply of the output signal from terminal d to the controlblock 30 is terminated. The control block 30 detects the output signalsupplied from terminal d indicating that the rotary operation member 61is pressed and detects whether supply of this signal from terminal d hascontinued for a predetermined period of time. According to a result ofthe detection, the control block 30 reads out from the ROM 31 a programcorresponding to the detection result and executes operation or controlaccording to the program which has been read out.

As shown in FIG. 16, when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated inthe direction of arrow A or B, the jog dial 60 outputs a 2-phase pulsesignal. That is, if the rotary operation member 61 is rotated clockwise,i.e., in the direction of arrow B, a signal α is outputted from betweenthe terminals a-c and a signal β, from between the terminals b-c withdifferent phases from each other. Similarly, if the rotary operationmember 61 is rotated counterclockwise, i.e., in the direction of arrowA, a signal α is outputted from between terminals a-c and a signal β,from between the terminals b-c with different phases from each other. Asshown in FIG. 16, a pulse signal is outputted in such a manner that whenthe rotary operation member 61 is rotated clockwise, the signal β isslightly delayed from the signal β, and when the rotary operation member61 is rotated counterclockwise, the signal α is slightly delayed fromsignal β. Consequently, the control block 30 can identify the rotationdirection of the rotary operation member 61 by detecting which of thesignals α and β has a delayed phase.

While the jog dial 60 is rotated by 360 degrees clockwise orcounterclockwise, a pulse is generated 15 times by the signal α andsignal β, respectively. That is, when the rotary operation member 61 isrotated by 1/15 turn (24 degrees), a pulse is generated by once by thesignal α and signal β, respectively. Consequently, the control block 30can detect the rotation angle of the rotary operation member 61 bycounting the number of pulses by using the counter 35. Furthermore, bycounting the number of pulses for a predetermined period of time byusing the counter 35, the control block 30 can detect a rotation speedof the rotary operation member 61.

In the IC recorder 1 having the aforementioned configuration, forexample, if the FILE button 51 is pressed prior to carrying out arecording, the control block 30 controls to read out a data from the ROM31 and icons corresponding to various files appear on the liquid crystalpanel 41. One of the icons on the display panel 41 can be selected byrotating the rotary operation member 61 of the jog dial 60 in thedirection of arrow A or B in FIG. 2 and the selected icon can bespecified by pressing the rotary operation member 61 in the direction ofarrow X so that a new sound data will be stored in the specified file.If the MENU button 52 is pressed prior to carrying out a recording, thecontrol block 30 reads out from the ROM 31 a data on the initial settingand a initial setting state appears on the liquid crystal display panel41. In order to modify a current initial setting, the rotary operationmember 61 is rotated in the direction of arrow A or B so as to select atarget item. When this selection is complete, the rotary operationmember 61 is pressed in the direction of arrow X so that the selecteditem can be modified. In this state, the rotary operation member 61 isrotated and pressed to modify the initial setting.

When the REC start button 55 of the IC recorder 1 is pressed, the ICrecorder 1 enters a recording start state. When the user speakssomething toward the microphone 11, a sound data is written in a PCMdata block of the semiconductor memory 9 specified by the aforementionedoperation of the jog dial 60. When the STOP button is pressed, therecording state is released. When the sound data is recorded in thesemiconductor memory 9, the aforementioned TOC information and a data onthe file number and index number are created as an auxiliary data or amanagement data by the control block 30 and written into the memory 9.

Next, explanation will be given on reproduction of a sound data recordedor stored in the IC recorder 1. In the same way as in recording, forexample, the FILE button 51 is pressed so that a data is read out fromthe ROM 31 by the control block and icons corresponding to various filesappear on the liquid crystal panel 41. The rotary operation member 61 ofthe jog dial 60 is rotated in the direction of arrow A or B to selectone of the icons on the liquid crystal panel 41. When the selection iscomplete, the rotary operation member 61 is pressed in the direction ofarrow X so as to specify the selected icon so that a sound data storedin PCM data blocks of the specified file will be reproduced. On theliquid crystal panel 41 of FIG. 2, only 02/37 associated with the indexnumber is displayed for convenience of explanation, but actually,various icons and time appear on the liquid crystal panel 41. In theexample of FIG. 2, the denominator 37 represents the number of sounddata pieces stored in the memory 9, and the numerator 02 represents theindex number which is currently reproduced or which can be reproducedimmediately. In this case, a file contains 37 sound data pieces storedin the memory 9 and a sound data of index number 02 is being reproducedor in a state to be reproduced immediately.

Here, when the IC recorder 1 is in the state to be reproducedimmediately, reproduction of the sound data of the selected index numberis started by operating the rotary operation member 61 of the jog dial60 as follows.

When the rotary operation member 61 is rotated counterclockwise, i.e.,in the direction of arrow A, the control block 30 executes a forwardsearch. More specifically, according to the number of pulses based onthe signals α and β shown in FIG. 16, the control block 30 reads outlater index numbers from the semiconductor memory 9 so as to besuccessively displayed on the liquid crystal panel 41 (in this case,03/37, 04/37, 05/37 . . . ). On the other hand, if the jog dial 60 isrotated clockwise, i.e., in the direction of arrow B, the control blockexecutes a backward search. More specifically, according to the numberof pulses based on the signals α and β, the control block 30 reads outearlier index numbers from the semiconductor memory 9 (in this case, 01,37, 36 . . . ) so as to be successively displayed on the liquid crystalpanel 41.

When the user has found the index number of the sound data to bereproduced and presses the rotary operation member 61, the control block30 detects an output signal supplied from the terminal d of the jog dial60 and controls to read out from the memory 9 the sound datacorresponding to the index number selected by operation of the jog dial60 and start reproduction of the sound data. In this reproduction state,if the rotary operation member 61 is pressed in the direction of arrow Xfor a short period of time (hereinafter, this operation will be referredto as a short pressing), the control block 30 controls to terminate thesound data reproduction. If the rotary operation member 61 is pressed inthe direction of arrow X in this reproduction state for a period of timelonger than a predetermined period of time (hereinafter, this operationwill be referred to as a long pressing), the control block 30 executes arepeat reproduction which will be detailed later.

Next, explanation will be given on various functions upon reproductionin the IC recorder 1. The IC recorder 1 has, during a reproduction, afunction of cue/review reproduction, a function of repeat reproduction,and a function of scan reproduction. These functions can be selected andexecuted by operating the rotary operation member 61 of the jog dial 60alone.

FIG. 17 shows operations of the rotary operation member 61 associatedwith the cue/review reproduction in relation to the reproduction statetransition. Note that in FIG. 17, the rotary operation member 61 isindicated simply as JOG. In order to carry out the cue/review, when orafter starting a reproduction, this rotary operation member 61 iscontinuously pressed in the direction of arrow X while rotated in thedirection of arrow A or B by a predetermined angle. As shown in FIG. 7,in this embodiment, if the rotary operation member 61 is continuouslypressed in the direction of arrow X while rotated counterclockwise,i.e., in the direction of arrow A, the control block 30 controls toexecute a cue reproduction, and if the rotary operation member iscontinuously pressed in the direction of arrow X while rotatedclockwise, i.e., in the direction of arrow B, control is made to carryout a review reproduction. This cue/review reproduction operation iscontinuously carried out while the rotary operation member 61 ismaintained in the pressed state in the direction of arrow X, assumingthat, for example, a sound data is reproduced with a speed 10 timesfaster than a normal reproduction speed. On the other hand, if thepressing of the rotary operation ember 61 in the direction of arrow X isreleased and supply of the output signal from the terminal d of the jobdial 60 terminates, the control block 30 terminates this cue/reviewreproduction operation and switches the mode to the normal speedreproduction. As shown in FIG. 17, the control block 30 also controls toswitch the mode to the normal speed reproduction if the rotary operationmember 61 is rotated clockwise, i.e., in the direction of arrow B duringa cue reproduction, or if the rotary operation member 61 is rotatedcounterclockwise, i.e., in the direction of arrow A during a reviewreproduction.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the cue reproductionreaches the end of the sound data stored in the memory 9, control ismade to interrupt the cue reproduction and set the mode to the head ofthe last sound data stored in the memory 9. On the other hand, when thereview reproduction reaches the first sound data stored in the memory 9,control is made to interrupt the review reproduction and set mode to thehead of the sound data stored in the memory 9. Thus, in the IC recorder1, control is made in such a manner that a cue reproduction or a reviewreproduction will not be terminated other than at the first and the lastpositions of the sound data stored in the memory 9. For example, a cuereproduction or a review reproduction will not be terminated at a sounddata of index number 03 when a sound data of index numbers 01 to 10 isstored.

If a long pressing of the rotary operation member 61 is carried outduring a sound data reproduction, the control block 30 executes a repeatreproduction of the sound data piece which is being reproduced. In theembodiment of the present invention, the sound data piece which has beenreproduced is repeatedly reproduced by the repeat reproduction. Duringthis repeat reproduction, if the rotary operation member 61 is pressedagain in the direction of arrow X or rotated in the direction of arrow Aor B, the repeat reproduction is released and mode is switched to thenormal reproduction. Also, if the STOP button 54 or ERASE button 56 ispressed during a repeat reproduction, the repeat reproduction isreleased and the normal reproduction mode is set in.

As shown in FIG. 18, if a long pressing of the rotary operation member61 is carried out in the state to be reproduced immediately or in thestop state, the control block executes a scan reproduction. That is, ifthe rotary operation member 61 is continuously pressed in the directionof arrow X for a predetermined period of time in the state to bereproduced immediately, the control block 30, according to an outputsignal from the terminal d, detects the period of time during which therotary operation member 61 is pressed and controls to start a scanreproduction. Here, the scan reproduction is a reproduction method asfollows. When a plurality of sound data pieces are stored in a file ofthe memory 9, starting portions of the respective sound data piecesstored in the file are reproduced intermittently and successively for apredetermined period of time (5 seconds for example) for each of thedata pieces. Note that in FIG. 18, the rotary operation member 61 isindicated simply as JOG.

Here, the control block 30 determines whether to execute a scanreproduction by detecting, for example, whether an output signal fromterminal d of the jog dial 60 based on the pressing of the rotaryoperation member 61 in the direction of arrow X is detected for 3seconds or more continuously. That is, if the output signal from theterminal d is detected for seconds or more from a start of pressing ofthe rotary operation member 61, the control block 30 controls to executea scan reproduction, and if less than 3 seconds from the start ofpressing, the control block 30 executes a normal mode reproduction.

After a scan reproduction is started, the scan reproduction continueseven if the pressing of the rotary operation member 30 in the directionof arrow X is released. When the scan reproduction of the last sounddata piece of the file which is being scan-reproduced is complete, thecontrol block 30 stops the IC recorder 1 at the head of the first sounddata piece of the file which has been scan-reproduced.

During a scan reproduction, if the rotary operation member is rotated inthe direction of arrow A or B, the control block 30 controls to switchto a scan reproduction of a sound data of an index number earlier orlater by a count value of the counter 35 determined by the number ofpulse signals generated by the rotation of the rotary operation member61. During this scan reproduction, if a target voice is heard from theloud speaker 24, the user presses the rotary operation member 61 in thedirection of arrow X while the target sound data is being reproduced.When the rotary operation member 61 is pressed, as shown in FIG. 18, thecontrol block 30 controls to switch to a normal mode reproduction. Thus,by pressing the member 61 while a scan reproduction is in progress, itis possible to hear the target sound data from the beginning to the end.If the STOP button 54 is pressed during a scan reproduction, the controlblock 30, according to an input signal from the operation block 50,releases the scan reproduction and enters a stop state.

In this example, if the ERASE button 56, the FILE button 51, or thePRIORITY button 53 is pressed during a scan reproduction, the controlblock 30 invalidates the input signal issued by pressing these buttonregardless of the ON/OFF state of the HOLD switch.

In the IC recorder 1, when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated inthe direction of arrow A or B, as has been described above, the controlblock 30 detects the signals α and β based on the output from theterminals a, b, and c of the jog dial 60 to determine the rotation speedof the rotary operation member 61 and executes a processingcorresponding to the detected speed.

FIG. 18 also shows a processing carried out when the rotary operationmember 61 is rotated from the STOP state. As shown in FIG. 18, when therotary operation member 61 is rotated counterclockwise, i.e., in thedirection of arrow A from the STOP state, if the rotation speed of therotary operation member 61 is slow, the control block 30 controls toexecute a forward direction search piece by piece and to increment theindex number on the liquid crystal panel 41 one by one as the searchproceeds. On the other hand, if the rotation speed of the rotaryoperation member 61 in the direction of arrow A is fast, the controlblock 30 controls to execute a forward direction search while skipping anumber of pieces and to increment the index number of the liquid crystaldisplay panel 41 by more than one at once.

Similarly, when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated clockwise,i.e., in the direction of arrow B from the STOP state at a slow rotationspeed, the control block 30 controls to execute a backward directionsearch piece by piece and decrement the index number on the liquidcrystal display panel 41 one by one. On the other hand, if the rotationspeed of the rotary operation member 61 in the direction of arrow B isfast, the control block 30 executes a backward direction search whileskipping a number of pieces and decrement the index number on the liquidcrystal display panel 41 by more than one at once.

Thus, in the IC recorder 1, even if a plenty of sound data pieces arestored in the semiconductor memory 9 with the corresponding indexnumbers, it is possible to carry out a fast rotation of the rotaryoperation member 61 so that a number of index numbers are skipped so asto quickly find a target index number, i.e., to display the target indexnumber on the liquid crystal display panel 41. Accordingly, in this ICrecorder 1, an index number search prior to a reproduction issignificantly improved, enabling to quickly reproduce a target sounddata with a simple operation.

FIG. 19 shows a processing carried out when the rotary operation member61 is rotated in the direction of arrow A or B from a sound datareproduction state. As shown in FIG. 19, in the IC recorder 1, when therotary operation member 61 is rotated counterclockwise, i.e., in thedirection of arrow A from a reproduction state with a slow rotationspeed, the control block 30 controls to execute a forward directionsearch piece by piece. More specifically, the control block 30 controlsto increase the index number on the liquid crystal panel 41 one by oneand start reproduction at the head of a sound data of the displayedindex number. On the other hand, if the rotary operation member 61 isrotated with a fast rotation speed, the control block controls toexecute a forward direction search while skipping a number of pieces.More specifically, the control bloc 30 controls to increment the indexnumber on the liquid crystal panel 41 by more than one at once and starta reproduction at the head of a sound data corresponding to thedisplayed index number.

Similarly, when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated clockwise,i.e., in the direction of B from a reproduction state, if the rotationspeed f the rotary operation member 61 is slow, the control block 30controls to execute a backward direction search piece by piece. Morespecifically, the control block 30 controls to decrement the indexnumber on the liquid crystal display panel 41 one by one and startreproduction at the head of a sound data corresponding to the displayedindex number. On the other hand, if the rotation speed of the rotaryoperation member 61 is fast, the control block 30 controls to execute abackward direction search while skipping a number of pieces. Morespecifically, the control block 30 controls to decrement the indexnumber of the liquid crystal display panel 41 by more than one at onceand start reproduction at the head of a sound data corresponding to thedisplayed index number.

Thus, in the IC recorder 1, even if there are a number of sound datapieces stored in the semiconductor memory 9, a simple operation of fastrotation of the rotary operation member 61 enables to quickly find andreproduce the head portion of a target sound data by skipping a numberof sound data pieces. This significantly enhances the sound data searchefficiency during a reproduction.

As has been described above, in the IC recorder 1, various functions areassigned to the jog dial 60. This enables to improve theoperationability as well as to reduce the size and weight of the entireapparatus. More specifically, a user can carry out all the basicoperations during a reproduction with his/her left hand thumb alone torotate and press the rotary operation member 61 without moving his/herfingers here and there. Because a number of functions are assigned tothe jog dial 60, it is possible to reduce the number of operationbuttons and switches as a whole, which facilitates operation of the ICrecorder 1 in the visual way as well as realizes reduction of the sizeand weight of the entire apparatus.

The aforementioned storage and reproduction apparatus according to thepresent invention uses a semiconductor memory. The present invention isnot to be limited to the aforementioned embodiment but can be applied torecording apparatuses in general, especially portable type apparatuseswhich can easily be carried. In the aforementioned embodiment, a sounddata recording and reproduction apparatus was detailed, but the presentinvention may be a recording and reproduction apparatus forrecording/reproducing other than a sound data such as a video data.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable hand-held apparatus comprising: asemiconductor memory configured to store one or more pieces of sounddata, a reproduction block including a loudspeaker configured toreproduce one or more of the pieces of sound data as sound signals fromthe loudspeaker, a display panel configured to display selectableinformation corresponding to each of one or more of the pieces of sounddata, a control block comprising a microcomputer and a program that isexecutable by the microcomputer to control the apparatus, a housingconfigured for hand-held operation containing the reproduction block,the display panel and the control block, an operation block configuredto supply a signal to the control block depending on user manual inputsto the operation block, the operation block comprising a circuit at asurface of the housing configured to detect a first user manual gesturein a first direction parallel to the housing surface, a second usermanual gesture in a direction opposite to the first direction and alsoparallel to the housing surface and a third user manual gesture in adirection that is perpendicular to the housing surface, wherein thecircuit of the operation block is configured to detect the first usermanual gesture and the second user manual gesture in selecting aparticular one of the one or more pieces of sound data when the displaypanel displays the selectable information corresponding to theparticular one of the one or more of the pieces of sound data, andwherein the reproduction block is configured to reproduce the particularone of the one or more pieces of sound data in response to the circuitof the operation block detecting the third user manual gesture.
 2. Theportable hand-held apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: amicrophone, contained in the housing, configured to receive a soundsignal, wherein the semiconductor memory is configured to store thesound signal received via the microphone as one of the one or morepieces of sound data.
 3. The portable hand-held apparatus of claim 1further comprising a hold switch configured to respond to a user inputby not accepting operation of the circuit of the operation block.
 4. Theportable hand-held apparatus of claim 3 wherein the hold switch islocated on a surface of the housing that is perpendicular to anothersurface of the housing at which the display panel can be viewed.
 5. Theportable hand-held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the selectableinformation corresponding to one of one or more of the pieces of sounddata displayed by the display panel comprises an icon for thecorresponding one of the one or more pieces of sound data.
 6. Theportable hand-held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display panel isconfigured to display a number of one of the one more pieces of sounddata in an order of reproduction.
 7. The portable hand-held apparatus ofclaim 6 wherein the selectable information comprises the number of oneof the one or more pieces of sound data, and wherein the first usermanual gesture and the second user manual gesture change the displayednumber.
 8. The portable hand-held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the firstuser manual gesture and the second user manual gesture change thedisplayed selectable information.
 9. The portable hand-held apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the display panel is configured to display timeinformation while reproducing sound.
 10. The portable hand-heldapparatus of claim 1 wherein the portable hand-held apparatus is alsoconfigured to reproduce video data.
 11. The portable hand-held apparatusof claim 1 wherein the portable hand-held apparatus is also configuredto record video data.
 12. The portable hand-held apparatus of claim 1wherein the semiconductor memory is configured to store one of the oneor more pieces of sound data sampled at one of a plurality of samplingfrequencies.
 13. The portable hand-held apparatus of claim 1 wherein thereproduction block further comprises a sound decoder configured todecode the particular one of the one or more pieces of sound data priorto supply to the loudspeaker.
 14. The portable hand-held apparatus ofclaim 13 wherein the semiconductor memory is configured to store one ofthe one or more pieces of sound data sampled at one of a plurality ofsampling frequencies.
 15. The portable hand-held apparatus of claim 1wherein the circuit of the operation block comprises at least oneswitch.
 16. The portable hand-held apparatus of claim 1 wherein thecircuit of the operation block comprises a part which is movable inresponse to at least one of the first user manual gesture, second usermanual gesture or third user manual gesture.